


"Books and other Creatures"

by Tertia_Quinn



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 20:13:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19775563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tertia_Quinn/pseuds/Tertia_Quinn
Summary: When reality sucks sometimes all it takes is a good book to escape it. Just Don't get too caught up in the story.





	1. It starts

**Author's Note:**

> My second ever chaptered fic. Yes, I am addicted to these things now. This is mostly a light-hearted fun one that's helping me blow off stress.
> 
> This is right after season one, and I've aged them up to 17 Sorry for the confusion. 
> 
> As Always I OWN ** _Nothing! Nothing, tra la la_** Ten points for whoever gets that quote. XD

_“Books”,_ Vanya thought as she hid her red face under the blanket and kept her wide eyes on the page in front of her, _“are awesome”._ They were her guilty little pleasure, her escape from the depression of her day to day life. For the most part, she stuck to the drab things her Father kept in the In house library. She’d burned through the Classics in no time: Jane Eyre, Little Women, Treasure Island, A Tale of Two cities; it didn't matter which. She’d devoured them all cover to cover just as soon as she could get her hands on them. 

**Then one day she found it.**

She had stumbled upon on _the book_ by accident when she had gone to her sister's room after she’d finished The Secret Garden for the 4th (maybe it was the fifth) time. She’d been lonely and looking for company. Allison...for whatever reason (let's be honest here, she was probably off somewhere hiding with Luther) wasn't there. But _the book was._ It had looked so innocent and lost just laying there amongst the rubbish in the wastebasket that Vanya’s heart ached for it. 

Unable to stop herself and praying that no one would come in, find her and then accuse her of “dumpster diving” Vanya moved towards the basket and lifted it out. 

“Well,” she sighed as she traced her hands over the front and back covers in sympathy examining the raised letters of its name and the creases in its spine, “She hasn't been kind to you, has she?” 

As much as Vanya loved her sister (And she did even though Allison made it hard sometimes) she had to admit that Allison wasn't very careful with her things. Her sister had dresses and books and all sorts of knick-knacks that Vanya would have killed for, and she just…. Well, that's another tangent and another story for another day. The point was Allison had a book. A book Vanya hadn't read yet and it was there, just laying in the wastebasket, begging to be picked up and loved. (Okay, so she might be projecting a bit, and she might have issues but who in this house with its robot mom, talking monkey, and megalomaniac Dad didn't!?!!) Every book was an adventure in Vanya's mind and here was a new one. Here was something she hadn't experienced before. Something she hadn't read 50 times and….and Allison probably wouldn't even miss it. 

Briefly, she wondered if maybe Dad was right, and she shouldn't have listened to Five when he suggested (demanded really because when does Five ever suggest anything?) she slow down on the pills. (Were books suppose to seem aware?) But ultimately she shrugged it off. Five was the smartest person she knew. And if he told her they weren't good for her, and she needed to slow down and take one instead of the two Dad insisted on... then she would. 

She looked at it again and the book seemed to glint and shine with the promise of all the excitement and adventure she seemed to be missing in her life. Its pages called out to her like a Siren’s Song and appeared to be begging for her to read it. Vanya, being Vanya, couldn't resist.

“All right,” she told it, nodding her head as she caressed the spine.

“You win.” 

Shoving it to the inside of her uniform jacket, she made her way towards Allison's door and stuck her head outside looking up and down the hallway to make sure no one was coming. Giggling and feeling a bit like “Jane Bond” (she was 007 after all) she fled Allison’s sanctuary and made her way back to her own.

When she was back inside her room, and she felt safe enough to breathe once more, she threw herself onto her bed and retrieved her new treasure from its hiding place in her vest. 

Her lessons were all done for the day. She had a couple of hours to kill before she had to make her way downstairs for dinner, so she decided to give in to her curiosity and read a few chapters because really, what could it hurt?

“Okay, Fantasy Lover,” she said, marveling at the name and wondering if Fantasy Lover meant she would soon be on a quest with Elves, and a Lord of the Rings -esque adventure. (After all, the cover sported a picture of The Michelangelo, and its name was Fantasy Lover. As in a lover of fantasy?) 

She bounced a bit on the bed and had to bite back a squeal of excitement as she opened it to the first page.

“Let's see what you're about.”

An hour later she sat enraptured. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates and her face felt like it was going to burn off as she buried her head under her blanket so only her eyes showed. This was in no way like Lord of the Rings. This…. This was…...her face flamed, taking the shade of red to new heights as Julian (the hero as far as she could tell and he was nothing like Frodo!!!) moved his hands and maneuvered the heroine in ways to try to get her to give in to what they both wanted. He teased and cajoled and Vanya squirmed as the words on the page sent heat throughout her body and made her question her sanity.

Two hours in and Vanya had learned about things she had never dreamed existed. Oh, she had known the mechanics of sex. A few years ago Pogo had caught Klaus and Diego reading a certain magazine and it had resulted in what was probably one of the most embarrassing experiences of her short life. Dad had decided classes were in order for all of them and being Dad, he’d seen no need to separate or “Spare them any details.” So it was that way Vanya found herself sitting in the classroom with all of her siblings learning the ins and outs of puberty, and what they should all expect from their bodies in the near future. It had taken her a week before she could even begin to look Five in the eyes again, and she still had problems with the others.

So yes she (unfortunately) knew the bare basics of sex and all that it entailed. It was the new stuff that was throwing her off. This book was introducing her to aspects Dad’s classes hadn't covered and it was…..enlightening to say the least.

She was three hours in and the story (Yes, it had a story and a very interesting one, thank you very much. It wasn't all about sex.) had stolen her away from the real world. Julian of Macedonia now owned her heart and dinner was the absolute last thing on her mind. 

Her eyes traced and consumed every line and word on the pages as if her life depended upon it. She pulled it closer to her face as Julian had finally gotten Grace (How weird was it that the heroine had the same name as her mom *shudder* Don't think about it, Vanya) right where he wanted her, his tongue in her ear and his hand running up the inside of her thigh when…... 

A crack of blue light and the smell of ozone invaded her space causing her to let out a shriek as she fell to the floor in an undignified tangle of embarrassment and blankets.

“Vanya?” An amused voice asked as the clearest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen peered down at her from their owners face. 

“What are you doing on the floor?”

“Five.” she squeaked, as she tried to free herself from the blankets, grab her book, (Yes it was her book now. Allison would have to fight her for it) and maybe reclaim a tiny portion of her dignity all at the same time. (Seriously how was it that he somehow always managed to be there when she did something foolish?) “Wh.. What are you doing here?” 

“You have no idea what time it is do you?” He smirked and then moved in front of her offering his hand in invitation. 

“Time?” she asked scrunching her nose in puzzlement. Her fingers closing around his as she let him pull her to her feet.

“Dinner is ready. We have four maybe five minutes to be downstairs before Dad starts bitching.”

“What?!” She shrieked in disbelief nearly falling back over again. His hand the only thing keeping her steady.

“It can’t be that late. The last time I looked at a clock I still had several hours before…" She glanced at the ancient timepiece hanging on her wall then shrieked again….

”There's no time…” she exclaimed tossing The Book carelessly under her pillow hoping he didn't notice, “I have to get ready if I'm late he’ll……”

It’s a book, just a book, nothing special or embarrassing about it!! It’ll be fine under the pillow, She thought worriedly.

“And that's why I'm here,” he said calmly letting go of her hand as he sat on the edge of her bed watching as she frantically ran around the room wrenching a brush through her hair and trying to throw on her uniform blazer at the same time. 

“Hurry, do what you need to do to finish getting ready and I’ll teleport us down.”

She dropped the brush and moved to him. 

“Are you sure,” she asked her voice frantic, “I thought you didn't want him knowing that you could take people with you yet. If he catches us, he’ll have you teleporting people all over the place.” 

“Give me some credit Vanya,” he interrupted taking her hand and wrapping his arm around her waist pulling her into his side. “I'm not stupid enough to do it where he’ll notice. And it's not just anyone. So far it's only you. That’s not going to be changing anytime soon.” 

The feel of his arm around her waist inevitably sent her mind back to the situation she’d just been reading about in the pages of the book and she wondered what it might be like if he moved his hand just a little bit …

She felt his arm give a rough shake around her waist in a bid for her attention and her face flamed as she turned to find him looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I said are you ready?” he asked, the eyebrow not lowering and his voice filling with puzzlement. She nodded frantically, desperate to get the images out of her head and gripped his arm a bit tighter as she braced herself.

“One. Two…”

She closed her eyes and the blue light and ozone smell flared up around them.

“Asshole,” she mumbled as she became aware of herself once more. Teleporting with Five was both terrifying and exhilarating all at once. She knew he would never allow anything to happen to her but the idea of her body disassembling on a molecular level so it could reassemble again in another place boggled her mind. 

He snickered a bit. His arm began locking in place and taking her weight so he could hold her up as she re-adjusted to being solid again.

“What happened to three.” 

“Probably off somewhere hiding in a closet with One.” He snarked, his voice at odds with the gentle way he handled her, making sure she was able to stand and then leading her towards the dining room. 

“Oh, ha-ha,” she shot back letting him support her even though she knew she could stand up on her own. “You’re so funny I forgot to laugh.”

He shot an arrogant smirk her way and then reached for the door handle. 

“You ready?” He asked. She nodded her head, and he turned the handle pulling the door, so they could walk in.

It was worse than she expected it would be. Her brothers and sister were all there standing at attention behind their chairs and waiting in what was obvious irritation. 

“So glad you could finally join us Number Five, Number Seven.” A voice that demanded obedience cracked through the room. “Perhaps you wouldn't mind informing the rest of us what held you up?”

Five positioned himself in front of her taking the brunt of the negative attention and led her to her customary seat at the table then moved to the place beside it making a show of slouching and putting his hands in his pockets. 

Vanya shivered as he slowly turned to face their father, his blue eyes turning glacial as he gave a shrug and the care-for-not attitude he was exuding seemed to amp up to a thousand and flow off of him in waves. 

“I was in the middle of a breakthrough and Vanya was helping me. Simple as that.”

Vanya cringed and tried to make herself smaller as the tension in the room skyrocketed and her siblings couldn't seem to decide who was the most fascinating in this little Mexican standoff Five seemed to be determined to have with Dad. 

They stared each other down, glacial blue meeting the emotionless grey of their father’s. His God awful monocle, that would still be giving Vanya nightmares long after she had grown and left this tomb of a house, glinting in the light. 

The old man cracked first. “See that it doesn't happen again,” he commanded looking at the others and signaling that they could sit as he pointed to Grace. She moved to the record player and the sounds of some ancient lecture filled the air. 

Vanya closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. She felt a finger tap at the underside of her knee, and she snapped her head up turning to Five to see him smirking at her in reassurance. His eyes seemed to dance, and she knew if they could talk, he’d have been crowing. 

An answering smile bloomed across her face and her stomach flipped as her body seemed to heat up and get hot all over.

She jerked her face back to her plate and her mind turned back to the dirty little secret she had waiting for her back in her room. She decided the way she was feeling could be attributed to that. It had nothing to do with the fact that Five was smirking that promise-filled smirk at her and flashing his dimples in triumph. Nothing at all dammit! 

That decided, the excitement flooded her system again, and she had to stop her leg from bouncing as she pushed the food around the dish with her fork. It was the longest dinner of her life. The minutes seemed to crawl by and Dad appeared to be getting a perverse sort of pleasure out of making them wait.

_Is it possible to be emotionless and smug at the same time?_ She questioned inwardly.

By the time he had declared himself finished and dismissed them, night had fallen and Vanya could feel her eyes starting to droop. Trying to shake the sleepiness off (She still wanted to read dammit) she stumbled a bit towards the stairs and felt that steadying hand (the one that always seemed to be there when she needed it) grab her arm again. Knowing who it belonged to just by the feel, she closed her eyes and leaned into him. 

“You’re crazy you know that right?” she mumbled nuzzling her cheek into his shoulder as he half carried, half led her up the stairs.

“One of these days you're going to say or do something that's going to be too much for him and he's not going to let it go.”

“Doubtful.” he scoffed, leading her towards her door and pulling it open. “He needs us too much for that.” his voice was low and grumbling in a way that was pleasing to her ears. It promised sleep, safety, and comfort in a way nothing else had before and she.... 

She felt his body stiffen and she glanced up in a sleepy daze to see his eyes narrowed and glacial once again. He had a look on his face that she prayed he never saw fit to turn in her direction. Worried, she turned and stood on her tiptoes trying to look over his shoulder and find the threat. She was surprised to see Allison of all people glaring back at them from her own doorway. Her eyebrows were raised high on her forehead in puzzlement and what Vanya was sure was accusation…... and…and... jealousy?.... Why? Why would Allison be….

_Does she know about the book? Is that why she's so…._

Vanya bit her lip and instinctively flinched into Five. _It wasn't them!_ she thought wildly as Allison’s eyes and face softened into a hesitant smile as they turned and landed on her. It was Five. Allison was glaring resentfully at Five and he was….

He let out a scoff that seemed to ring down the hallway as he pulled Vanya further into him in a way that could only be described as protective (possessive?) and slammed her door.

“Five?” she asked her voice small and filled with astonishment,

“What on earth?” 

“It was nothing,” he told her his tone just this side of harsh. "Suffice to say, Three believes she knows better than me about something and is determined to stick her nose where it doesn't belong. I won’t allow it, and she's not taking it well."

“Is it important?" she asked, biting her bottom lip and starting to worry at it with her teeth. His eyes snapped to hers and his face set into a look she’d never seen him wear before.

“Do you trust me?” He asked. His eyes a soft crystal blue as they seemed to beg her to give him the answer he wanted.

Somehow instinctively she knew something very important hung on her answer so she wasted no time in seizing his hand and giving it to him.

“Always”, she said her voice full of conviction, “Always and with everything. You know that.”

“Then trust me now and let it go. Trust me to take care of it and stop worrying.”

Uneasy, she searched his face for any sign of hesitancy or indecision.

“Alright,” she sighed finally finding none and feeling the sleepiness from earlier starting to creep back on her.

Despite her best efforts, he seemed to sense it and a tired smirk of his own slid across his face. "Go to bed Vanya," he told her "It's late and we’re both tired." He reached out and tugged on a strand of her hair then balled his fist up in preparation to teleport back to his own space.

She tensed at the sight, a flood of dread and anxiety filling her. She didn't understand why but the sight of his balled up fists getting ready to teleport filled her with such a sense of unease, (abandonment?) that she couldn't stop herself from calling out to him.

“Five…?”

He cocked his head at her in puzzlement then grimaced when he saw her gaze focused on his hands.

“Go to bed Vanya,” he told her again. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow I promise.”

"Five I…." she bit her lip and trailed off, wishing she had the courage to tell him….she wasn't even sure what or how to put it in words yet but …...

“I know," he told her, sending a tired, crooked smile instead of his normal smug smirk back at her. "Me too…" and then with a flash of blue, he was gone leaving nothing but the smell of ozone behind him.

With a sigh, she pulled the covers on her bed back and climbed in not bothering to take off anything but her shoes. Morning, she decided stretching out, couldn't come fast enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one!! And I still own nothing XD

Chapter Two

_Morning_ , Vanya decided grunting with displeasure and snuggling back under her covers could, in Five’s words. 

“Kiss my ass”. It came as it always did. Bright annoying and early. Whoever came up with the idea for it must have been a masochist and they should be taken out and shot….Or at least made to make reparations. 

She was tired and cranky and she wanted nothing more than to bury herself back under her covers and go back to sleep. Knowing she couldn't, she stretched her arms up and above her head, sliding one up and under her pillow only to sit up immediately when she felt her hand bump into something. _The Book_. The one she’d borrowed from Allison! In all the excitement with dinner and Five facing off with Dad, she had forgotten all about it. 

Chewing on her lip and looking at the clock on her wall she squinted and tried to estimate how much time she had left before she had to be ready and downstairs for breakfast. Realizing she had just enough time for a shower she sighed got up and placed it in her bag. Julian of Macedon, as much as her fingers itched for the book, would have to wait for a few hours. There was no way she could handle another standoff between Five and Dad. He might be brave enough to believe he could say and do whatever he wanted but Vanya wasn't.

As much as she believed in him (why did she feel as if she should be using another word there?) she also knew that life didn't really work like that. Well, hers didn't anyway. There was always a consequence for every slight. Especially when it came to Dad. Five’s slights were starting to add up and Vanya was petrified of what exactly the fallout would be. And whether either of them would be able to survive it. 

Shrugging the dark thoughts off, she gathered up her clothes for the day and made her way out the door where, hopefully, a shower and an uneventful breakfast awaited her.

Three hours later found her bored and listless, doing everything she could to stay awake as Mom droned on and on about some ancient war in some distant part of the earth that any other day would have had her riveted. Any other day she wouldn't have had _The book,_ burning a hole in her bag and making her nearly vibrate in her seat with excitement.

She chewed on her lip and couldn't help but allow her eyes to move back to her bag. The damn thing seemed to be tempting her with promises of answers and escape.. surely mom wouldn't notice if she just peeked at it. She could pull it out and just read one chapter maybe two…

Letting the temptation get the better of her, she leaned over to where her bag rested on the floor beside her. Stretching her arm out, she bent down trying to be as inconspicuous as possible and rummaged around hoping to find it. Pens, notebooks, music sheets; She cursed under her breath in frustration as she somehow managed to find things she had forgotten about having!!

Seriously, how hard was it to find one 304 page book?! Huffing in exasperation, she leaned further out of her chair, her arm all but disappearing as she extended her leg for balance. When her fingers finally closed around her prize, she nearly crowed. Thankfully she had enough self-preservation instincts not to but……..

”Vanya? Sweetheart?” She heard her mother question. 

“What are you doing?" For the second time in two days, Vanya let out an undignified screech and fell to the floor. Only this time it wasn't just Five getting to witness her little display. It was all of her siblings. 

“Nothing”, she squeaked the horror and embarrassment flooding her as she jumped to her feet and slid back into her chair, "It was nothing. I was just trying to find a….pen... that's all, I was trying to find a pen so I could take notes…." Distantly, she thought she heard something rumble and crack but she ignored it in favor of looking down at the work table.

"Silly, you should have just asked if you needed a pen. We have plenty of them right up here." She smiled her signature charming Stepford smile and Vanya nodded, half praying the ground would just open up and swallow her already.

She felt a hand land on hers under the table and instantly knew who it belonged to. Unfortunately, this did nothing for her embarrassment, in fact, it seemed to help amp it up and she had to force herself to peak out from behind her hair.

Five was staring at her. His eyes had turned a stormy shade of blue filled with worry and his mouth was set in a questioning line. 

She felt the heat of embarrassment creep up higher, passed her neck into her face and settle across her cheeks. (It was embarrassment from falling dammit!!! Nothing else!!) He studied her for a second, seemed to come to some conclusion of his own, and then his eyes went dark and he flashed his dimples as a knowing smirk bloomed across his face.

“Oh for God's sake”, she heard Klaus stage whisper from down the work table. “Why don’t they just get a room already?”

“Ouch, Ben. Jesus, you didn't have to kick me. I was only saying what we were all thinking. It’s not my fault you were too afraid to say it.”

“Its called Tact Klaus, get some.” Diego retorted.

“I’d love to Diego, really I would.” Klaus answered, in a put upon voice.

“But ‘tact’ is just not saying true stuff.”

“Did you just…qu-quote Buffy The Vampire Slayer at me??”

“Depends,” Klaus shot back. “Are you admitting to knowing it was a Buffy quote?”

Vanya’s face decided to change to a hitherto undiscovered shade of purple and she would have snatched her hand back if Five hadn't laced their fingers and gripped it. She watched in sheer mortification as his face went from smug to murderous in seconds. 

All thoughts of the book had fled her mind completely as she locked her eyes on her mother deciding that the history of Mr. Hershey and his effects on the US economy was now the single most important, most fascinating topic in existence and anyone who said differently could fight her.

_Oh God, oh God,_ her mind screamed, _he didn't really say that, did he? He did!! He did!!! Five is going to kill him and I'm going to hold his coat!_

She could feel the murderous rage pouring off of Five in waves. He was sitting there, just as stiff as she was, his fingers stubbornly laced together with her own under the table and refusing to let go. She bit her lip and chanced a glance at him nervously trying to judge his mood. His eyes were frozen chips of blue ice, as he glared violently at Klaus promising pain and what was probably going to be a particularly vicious verbal beating later.

Vanya squirmed, her eyes fluttering as her stomach flipped, heat invaded her body and was warring with embarrassment...she gulped as……. 

_STOP IT!!_ she mentally screamed. _Five in a homicidal rage wanting to kill Klaus for me is not hot dammit. It's not!!!_

He seemed to sense her looking at him and his face lost the murderous quality while his eyes softened a bit. If it had been anyone else, she’d have said he was worried. As it was, he started caressing the inside of her wrist with his thumb, moving it in soothing patterns that helped cool the embarrassment but did little to nothing for her hormones.

Squirming again and rubbing her thighs together she tried to get a hold on herself and kill the mental place her mind seemed determined to go to. It was full of deep red velvet, silk ties, tall bed posts, Five…and ….and…... _No dammit Stop!!_ She shook herself and just barely managed to pull back from it.

Turning to face him completely, she squeezed his hand, sent him a tremulous smile and shrugged her shoulders in a, _“It's Klaus what yah going to do”_ kind of way. His eyes softened completely and she felt him squeeze back. He didn't let go of her hand again until well after the end of the lesson.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I would post this while Im waiting for my beta to finish checking chapter Seven of two worlds for me. As always I own nothing.

It was after lunch before the possibility of reading anything presented itself to Vanya and when it did, she was more than ready. Normally she would have used this time to practice her violin but lately, she just wasn't ...feeling _it?_ Visions of white teased at the corners and edges of her mind and her head threatened to hurt so she shook the thought off, snagged up her bag and practically flew up the stairs. When she finally made it to the attic door, she opened it, slipped her head in and peeked around it to make sure it was empty. 

Satisfied that she was alone she moved into the room rummaged around until she found some old cushions and a blanket in a dusty old trunk that probably hadn't seen the light of day since dinosaurs were roaming the earth, built herself a nest then buried herself within it. 

_Finally,_ she thought, sighing with exasperation as she curled up, opened the book, and lost herself in the words and story again.

It was just as epic and enthralling as she remembered. Her eyes were glued to the page and she squirmed as the main character teased and tempted the heroine into giving in to what she wanted.

It was an intricate dance and Vanya loved it. Her face turned a deep scarlet and she tried to hide her head under the blanket at a particularly racy scene. She was so into Julian, his godly body and where he was putting his hands next that she didn't hear the door open or the laughter (maybe argument?) that ensued as most of her siblings moved into the attic. 

Julian had just saved the heroine from a psycho in the elevator and was just about to show her all of the fun and naughty things that one can do with chocolate sauce and a can of ready whip when…..

“Vanya??!” 

_**“Come with me" he whispered in her ear. "Now. Let me take you into my arms, strip your clothes from your body, and show you how the gods meant for a woman to know a man. I swear to you, you'll remember it for the rest of eternity."** _

"Vanya!!" The incessant voice demanded again and this time, a hand touched her shoulder, breaking the spell and jolting her back to reality. Suffice it to say she wasn't very happy

“WHAT?” she demanded angrily in a loud voice, slamming her book closed and then against her knees. “What was so damn important that you couldn't wait a few minutes for me to…….”

"Whoa, and here I thought I was supposed to be the medium. Way to Conjure Number Five little sis. Dial it back a bit. Ally was just worried and making sure you were okay.”

“Klaus?” Vanya blinked in startlement, noticing for the first time that she wasn't the only one in the room anymore and coming back to herself. Numbers 1 through 4 were all gathered in and around her, Allison being the most prominent, invading her personal space and standing in front of her with her hand on her shoulder and a smile on her face. 

It was the first time since….(since what?) well it had been ages since she had really been alone with the others. Five always seemed to be near her these days, dancing in and out of her space with little to no effort and on the very rare occasion, he wasn't, Ben seemed to take up the slack.

Looking at Allison now she couldn't help but feel nervous and a little bit claustrophobic. 

_“Three believes she knows better than me about something._ " She could hear Five's voice echo in her memory. “ _She’s determined to stick her nose where it doesn't belong. And I won’t allow it.”_

Vanya flinched back from her sister watching as her hand hung in the empty air for a split second and a look of sorrow settled across her face before she lowered it to her side. 

“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” Klaus answered happily seeming to dance on that imaginary cloud he’d always existed on. 

He inserted himself between the two of them giving Vanya a chance to back up, breathe and pull herself together.

“Wha...What are you guys doing here?" she asked, hiding her book in her blazer again and maneuvering herself out of the blanket towards the door. 

“Don't you usually have training now?”

“Normally we do.” Allison started, “Dad let us go early today though and I saw you sneaking up here and decided to come see what you were up to.”

“Wait,” Vanya froze. "Dad let you go early?”

“Yeah, he said he had something important to do.” It was Luther that answered and Vanya felt the room tilt. Fear stabbed through her body and she had to remind herself to breathe. Deliberately not looking at Luther. (She couldn’t... gods help her she didn't know why but she couldn't look at him.) She bit and chewed on her lips as she reached out and steadied herself by placing her hand on Klaus’s shoulder. 

“Wh...Where’s Five?” she asked him in a small voice, moving her eyes to his face. "If Dad let you leave early why isn't he here too?"

Distantly, she thought she heard the crack of thunder outside and rain began to pelt the windows and roof of the attic in sheets. That couldn't be right though because the last time she’d checked the skies had been clear, birds had been singing and….

She looked up into Klaus’s normally carefree face only to see him staring back at her worriedly. And then she turned to Allison.

Her face was full of indecision and it mirrored the worry on Klaus’s. Vanya could see Luther’s boots ( _don't look_ she thought hysterically _don't look at his face_ ) step up behind Allison and place a supporting hand on her shoulder. It was all she seemed to need.

“Look Vanya we really need to……” 

“Five is right here.” His voice snapped and rang through the room like a gong. Vanya nearly sobbed with relief as her head snapped up to see him standing in the doorway, leaning on Ben for support. He was obviously exhausted but his eyes and voice were apocalyptic with rage, promising pain and death to everyone in the room. 

She had never been so glad or grateful to see anyone in her life.

Vanya dropped her hand from Klaus, scooted around Allison and made her way to his side as fast as her legs could carry her. He glanced at her his face and eyes softening (like they always had for her) and he held the arm not being supported by Ben out in invitation. She wasted no time sinking into it and buried her face in his neck as he pulled her into his side. 

He ran his fingers through her hair and then muttered something in her ear that she couldn't understand. He took a minute to soothe her and then handed her off to Ben.

“Go with Ben,” he told her softly, “I’ll be down in a minute. It seems I have some things to discuss with the others.”

He smoothed her hair back behind her ears and then looked at Ben, who seemed to study both of them, before turning to look around the room, disappointment filling his face, and nodded back to Five sadly. Klaus flinched for a second, much more visibly affected by Ben’s disappointment than Five's glare.

"Come on Vanya." He suggested, "I bet if we asked, we could talk mom into making us something."

Five stood up straight on his own as she moved away from him and followed Ben.

“Now, I know you four only have one brain cell to split between the lot of you. So you’re starting out at a disadvantage. But which one of you special little snowflakes decided it was a good idea to use Dad's sudden need to give me special training for……" 

Ben closed the door firmly after her and she couldn’t hear the rest, the rain still roaring in the background as he led her down the hall.

“Special training? Is that why he looks so tired? Ben, what happened? Why would Dad give him Special training? He hasn’t done that since we were little. Five's always been able to walk the line between keeping him both pleased and pissed off,” Vanya asked all these questions in rapid-fire succession, a new fear sweeping through her body and she wondered if this was it. If this was the time when he’d finally taken it too far and his slights had caught up with and outweighed his usefulness.

“Why does Dad do anything he does?” Ben sighed, guiding her to the kitchen and opening the door for her, “Your guess is as good as mine. He led us through our normal training, put us through the paces then announced we could leave early.” 

“Well, all of us but Five. Apparently, today was a special day for him. Dad had something he wanted him to try."

“Hmm, Mom’s not here, I’ve never made cookies before, want to try doing it on our own? There’s bound to be a recipe or something around here somewhere…." He trailed off and started shuffling through the cabinets, looking for a cookbook or anything that might have a recipe on it.

“Lu... Luther said...” Vanya stuttered then closed her eyes, sat down at the counter swallowed and tried to start again. 

“He said Dad told you he had something important to do. He didn't mention anything about Five.”

“Well he wouldn't have, would he?” A voice answered from the doorway, causing both of their heads to snap to the side and stare.

Vanya breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Five leaning with his shoulder on the frame of the doorway, his legs crossed out in front of him.

_Even exhausted he still manages to look……._ She shook her head and shut those thoughts down as fast as she could.

“His head's still so far up Dad’s ass, he can’t see the sun for the moon.” He cocked his head to the side as if this was amazingly funny and then snickered.

Ben practically facepalmed then shook himself. He mumbled something about being the only sane one in this family, looked up and gave a tired smile of his own. 

“You know you really should be resting.” he admonished, lifting a sardonic eyebrow.

“Special training is always hard on all of us. I can’t imagine he went any easier on you. In fact, if I was guessing, I’d say you probably goaded him into pushing you harder.”

Five smirked, shrugged and then stumbled towards them. He practically fell into the chair next to her, folded his arms up on the counter then buried his face in them. 

He mumbled something unintelligible into the counter and Vanya was only just able to stop herself from touching him.

“What?” she asked, biting her lip and physically forcing her arm to stay at her side. 

He lifted his head and turned so his temple was resting on his forearm and his blue eyes peeked out at her.

“I said it's Dad, what did you expect? He had me jumping like a mad man trying to see how far I could go before I passed out.”

“It was nothing new. I'm just lucky he doesn't know I can…." He trailed off and then turned to look at Ben, who was staring at him with a knowing and pitying look on his face.

“I'm just lucky he doesn't know I can take people with me.”

The rain and wind seemed to lash heavier against the windows and Vanya’s face crumpled. She was seconds away from crying, in fact, she knew she would have if he hadn’t reached out tiredly and tugged on that single piece of stubborn hair he always managed to find and admonished her.

“Oh seriously, Anya don't cry." he lightly scolded. "You’re much prettier when you smile and I'm really not up for tears right now.” He shoved his face back into his arms and groaned. "After dealing with Dad, and those imbeciles up there…...All I want to do at this point is sleep."

Vanya reared back her face bypassing red and heading straight for scarlet.

He thought she was pretty!!! Five thought she was pretty!!! He thought she was pretty and he’d called her by a nickname. No one had ever done that before and she…..She snapped her head up as she heard Ben give a quiet laugh.

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and smiled kindly. Forget scarlett, she was purple. She was purple!!!! Her face was on fire!!! She was PURPLE!!! and…. and Five….. Five thought she was pretty….

“Ben..” Five snapped in a warning tone. 

“I know, I know.” He laughed then groaned and stood up.

“I really should go see how Klaus is. You did manage to leave him in one piece right? I know he's listening to the wrong people and making bad choices but he’s Klaus, he means well.”

“They all mean well.” Five snapped turning his head and glaring, “That’s the problem. They all mean well and they never think.”

If Vanya's mind hadn't been so busy imploding ( _He thinks I'm pretty!! **FIVE** thinks **I’M** pretty!!_) she might have thought to question what they were talking about. She might have wondered why the rain stopped so abruptly, and she might have marveled at the fact that the flowers in the window box had suddenly gone from half dead to full bloom. As it was her brain _was_ imploding and she was too busy having her world rocked as she helped Ben get Five back upstairs to notice. In the months to come, she would look back on this time and marvel at how truly oblivious she'd been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, there it is. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Comments will be appreciated. XD


	4. Chapter 4

When morning dawned, Vanya had two things on her mind: First, _he thinks I'm pretty!_ And the second, _when the hell am I going to have time to read more of my book_? She'd left Julian and Grace at the most inopportune of moments ( _Thank you Allison_ her mind snarked. _Your timing for whatever that was, was impeccable as always._ ) They were finally going to break the curse and free Julian from his book. And then, hopefully he'd be able to meet back up with his friend Kyrian, whom he was sure had been crucified but he had thought he'd seen him in a crowd and Vanya just knew that meant that he was alive and they would all get their happily ever after because ultimately that's how books worked.

Unfortunately, that's not how _this_ book worked.

It was a fact that Vanya was about to find out the hard way.

If she was honest, she would have to admit that she was terrified of what the morning would bring when she inevitably had to go down to breakfast and face the others. 

Five was waiting for her outside her door, his face a mixture of the haughty impatience he always wore and if you looked hard enough, (Or you were Vanya, who’d long since memorized all of his expressions) worry. She stopped the second she saw him. Her cheeks immediately turning crimson as she stumbled and nearly dropped the bag she was carrying. _Pretty, he thinks I'm pretty!!_ She stared at him in sheer mortification, a deer caught in the headlights expression firmly fixed upon her face.

“Uh...Hi?” she managed to squeak out. 

He stared at her for a moment in pure disbelief and then the worry disappeared, his eyes turned a dark navy, and a knowing smirk settled itself smugly across his face. 

Vanya’s stomach clenched and heat invaded places it had no business invading. _“Dear goddess does he know what he’s doing to me.”_

“Hi,” he snickered reaching out and taking her bag from her shoulder and slinging it over his own.

Her amber eyes narrowed at him in suspicion as he jogged up in front of her and began to walk backwards so he could face her that damnable smug and all-knowing smirk still firmly in place.

Her hand itched to smack it off. And he flashed his dimples. _He knows!! He definitely knows!! grrr!_ Her expression must have changed and not for the better, because he snickered again, reached out and tugged on that same damn curl he always did. 

“Don't be mad Van-ya.” he purred, stopping in front of her and leaning forward to completely invade her space. His eyes were dancing, his nose nearly touching her own, and she could feel his breath ghost across her mouth and she…... _Oh gods Oh gods, what is he doing, is he going to….._

Her own breath stuttered and then started to come faster as she watched his eyes go from a laughing blue to a dark azure that was full of surprise and a sinful promise, that made her toes curl and her stomach clench. He focused on her mouth in that same single-minded intensity she had only ever seen him use when he was lost in his book or was working on a particularly difficult equation. She instinctively exhaled letting her own breath flow out across those sinfully smirking lips and he shuddered and closed his eyes.

She had just enough time to hear him mummer “Fuck it” as he leaned forward and….and …….. 

“All I’m saying is Ben believes he’s right and maybe he has a point. You know they’ve always had that weird connection thing going on, even when we were little. Seriously, Ally, you have to stop. If you don't…..well you heard him last night. He’ll take …….” Klaus trailed off as he and Allison appeared at the bottom of the stairs. And raised an eyebrow at them.

_Noooo,_ her mind howled, _nooo he was this close….. he was going to…._

Five cursed and his face became a mixture of angry impatience and disappointment as he moved them so he was between her and the others. 

“Well Hi, Five, Little sis, fancy seeing you here.” Klaus’s voice was as light and airy as ever but if you looked and listened closely enough, you could tell it was strained. 

“I'm surprised. Usually, Ally and I are the first ones here. It's rare for one of you guys to beat us.” Vanya gave a half smile and a lame wave over Five’s shoulder. Allison, who was by now looking like the world was ending, sent her a sad one back. Her face screamed depression and Vanya’s heart went out to her. If it hadn't been for Five, she might have gone to her. Hell, she might have gone to her anyway but then she heard the unmistakable sound of Luther’s heavy running boots pounding down the stairs and her body locked up. She could feel her breath start to come in uneven pants (this time not from excitement) and her hands involuntarily raised up and clinched themselves in Five’s blazer. Gods, what the fuck was wrong with her.

Why did this have to happen? Seriously, did she do something horrible in a past life? Was her past self a serial dog kicker or something? Did she steal candy from a bunch of babies? All she wanted to do was read her book, dammit! Was that so wrong? She wanted to see Grace and Julian live happily ever after. She wanted to see Julian find out Kyrian was alive and meet back up with him dammit!!! Was that really too much to ask? 

Usually, they couldn't get rid of her fast enough. Why had they chosen now, to decide she was interesting. She sighed and leaned into Five’s back. She heard more feet pounding on the stairs, only this time they stopped at the last stair….

“Really?” An exasperated voice demanded.

“We’re going to do this again? Really? Klaus, I thought we talked about this.” Ben mumbled something and closed his eyes.

“We did and I agreed,” Klaus said outraged. “It's not my fault other people had different plans.” 

Sighing exasperatedly and shaking his head... Ben effortlessly navigated around the others until he was standing next to Vanya.

“You hungry, V?” he asked, his voice kind and his eyes smiling. She tilted her head at him in slight confusion ( _another nickname_?) before nodding. 

“Good, me too,” he announced reaching out and tweaking her nose and killing the tense atmosphere.

“Hey, Guys," he called back over his shoulder. "Vanya and I are hungry. So we’re going to eat. You can just…..stay out here and posture or……. whatever it is you think you’re doing. I wouldn't advise taking too long though. You know how Dad gets when we're late.”

He grabbed her hand, snickering at Five as he gave a half growl and then placed it in the corner of his elbow like a Knight escorting his Queen. “Don't know about you,” he said happily, “But I'm hoping for waffles."

And that had been the end of it. Things had seemed to go back to normal after that. Her siblings had all filed in one by one, sitting at their normal places as mom started up another boring record. It was a typical morning, followed by typical classes, in a typical day. 

When mom had finally finished her lecture for the day, Vanya had very nearly cheered and done a happy dance. Finally, she could get some reading done. She could finally escape from this hell hole for a few hours and find out what happened to Julian. 

Deciding the attic was a bad idea, she snatched up her bag and made her way to the first well-lighted corner she could find. Which coincidentally just happened to be a window seat just off the corner of the main hall. She settled herself down on the cushion, curled her legs up, then leaned back and let her back rest against the corner of the sill.

When she was comfortably situated, she opened the book to its last pages and prepared for her happy ending.

_**Julian dipped his head to her ear where he nuzzled her neck. "I will love you forever," he whispered. Grace heard him draw a deep breath in her hair at the same time the clock struck midnight. In a bright flash of light, he vanished.** _

_What!!!_ Vanya’s mind screamed…… _WHAT???_

“JULIAN, YOU IDIOT, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO??!!” She slammed the book closed and then hurled it against the nearest wall. Panting and on the verge of tears, she glared at it, her eyes full of death and betrayal. 

"Jesus, Little sis, what did that poor book ever do to you?" Vanya turned her glare on Klaus and Ben, who had walked into the room, just in time for it to fly past their faces on its journey to the wall. She watched as he flinched and she could see the conflict saturate their eyes as they debated whether it was better to stay or run. 

“It...he...it wasn’t….Grrrrrr. It doesn’t follow normal book laws!" She accused, stomping her foot in outrage!! "Its being stupid. It's not supposed to go like this its not…. It's not….He told her he loved her and then he left. He just left. Went back into his stupid book like she was nothing. How could he do that?? How could he just leave her like that? She was ready to give him everything and he just…...he left. He just left. How could he….” 

Klaus looked at Ben, his face full of hidden meaning, his eyes dark and troubled as he made his way over to Vanya and then pulled her into a hug. 

“Maybe he didn't mean to leave her." He soothed, rubbing his hand up and down her back in a comforting pattern. "Maybe he was just young and stupid and really, really, arrogant (Ben snorted here) and he had no idea what he was doing or leaving behind. Have you read the whole book yet? Maybe he comes back.” 

“How??? He's stuck in his damn book again and Grace is all alone. She would have done anything for him ANYTHING and he….." Her breath hitched, and to her horror, she realized she was crying. 

She tried to pull back, horrified and embarrassed, but Klaus just sighed and hugged her tighter. “He didn't mean it V, he didn't mean to leave her. I'm pretty sure he did something really, really stupid, he thought was smart and then he got stuck." Vanya exhaled and then let herself sink into his hug, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder.

“I don't understand,” she whimpered, “Why’d he do it, Klaus? Why’d he leave?” She half hiccuped, half sobbed as she buried her head further into his shoulder and mumbled something unintelligible.

“I would have done anything for him. Why’d he go?”

“Because he’s an idiot who didn't understand what he was doing or what he was giving up until it was too late.” Ben said, sighing as he walked to the wall and picked up the book. He raised his eyebrows at the front cover but didn't say anything as he walked back to them and placed his hand on her head.

“He didn't realize what the consequences would be. I'm sure…,” he paused here trying to keep his voice straight. "…..Julian regretted it the minute he realized what he’d done. In fact, I bet if you read the rest of your book, you’ll find out he comes back and tries to make it up to her."

“Jesus,“ she sniffed, pulling away from Klaus and then using the cuff of her blazer sleeve to wipe her nose and eyes.

“I'm sorry, this must seem so silly to you. It's just a book and I know that but…"

“Okay no, first of all," Klaus interrupted, "Never apologize for how you're feeling or when you're needing someone. Especially to me. We get enough of that shit from Dad.”

“And second…..Did you just wipe your nose on your sleeve?! Seriously V, ewww. We really need to talk if you see this as an acceptable hygiene practice because it’s really…...Wait WHAT ARE YOU DOING?…..DON'T YOU TOUCH ME WITH THAT ITS CONTAMINATED?!! GROSS VANYA!!! BEN!!...BEN!! SAVE ME SHE'S GOING TO TOUCH ME WITH HER SNOT INFESTED SLEEVE!!"

Vanya giggled, held her arm out and began to chase him around the room, the aforementioned sleeve held proudly before her. 

Ben snickered, caught her up around the waist, leaving her arms and legs to dangle towards the floor. "Don't torment the crazies, V, it's not fair. Klaus can't help it if he's an easy target."

“Yeah, I can't help it if I'm a...Hey, wait WHAT?!"

"You know, we never did make those cookies and I am kinda hungry…” Ben said.

He dragged her towards the kitchen, her hands and feet inches from the floor and giggling hysterically the whole way. Klaus followed behind them, wailing about the injustice of being called a crazy and demanding cookies.

And that was how the others found them later. The radio blasting some old 80's tune, blazers discarded on the floor sleeves rolled up, and covered from head to toe in flour as they argued over how much a tablespoon actually was.

“It’s three teaspoons, V, not two. And stop eating the god damned cookie dough, Klaus! Jesus, all we need is for you to turn up with salmonella.” 

Klaus snickered as he stole and ate another handful, all the while keeping out of Ben's range and tossing more flour at him.

The song changed to something happy and upbeat at that moment and Klaus grabbed Vanya's hand and swung her into an impromptu waltz. She squealed and giggled as he spun her out then back, then waltzed her up to Ben, handed her off, stole the mixing bowl and began to dance with it. Ben closed his eyes in exasperation, mumbled something but then looked at her happy face and shrugged. If you can't beat them, join them. He grabbed her hand and started to twirl her around and around.

Distantly in the back of her mind, she was aware that the others had joined them, Allison’s laughter ringing through the air as Luther took her hand and started spinning her in time to the music. Diego leaning all smug against the sink and…..Ben smirked then spun her out again and let go so that she giggled and somehow managed to drunkenly stumble straight into Five.

"If you wanted to dance." He said conversationally, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her lower body into his. "All you had to do was ask."

He spun her around then, dipped her back, the ends of her hair brushing the floor and his right knee resting against the heated place between her thighs, her skirt riding high to accommodate him. Violins started playing in the background and he locked his eyes with hers and smirked.

She had thought her body reacted to him before. That had been nothing compared to this. Her gut clenched and heat exploded in her lower abdomen then began to race through her veins as he made sure her center rubbed roughly against his thigh while he slowly brought her back up to rest against his chest.

_~Istanbul was Constantinople Now it's Istanbul,_

_not Constantinople Been a long time gone,_

_Oh Constantinople Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night~_

His eyes were a sinful dark blue flame, that threatened to consume and devour her very being as his feet began to move and he skillfully led her in a fast-paced dance matching the beat of the song perfectly. 

_~Every gal in Constantinople_

_Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople_

_So if you've a date in Constantinople_

_She'll be waiting in Istanbul~_

He spun her out, again and again, each time bringing her back and stoking the fire in her body higher and higher with innocent little touches and caresses until she thought she was going to scream.

_~Even old New York was once New Amsterdam_

_Why they changed it I can't say_

_People just liked it better that way~_

He pulled her back in and rubbed his nose along the column of her throat, breathing her scent in before swinging her out to match the beat of the music.

What had started out as an innocent, fun dance with a goofy Klaus trying to bring her spirits back up, had somehow morphed into this...this, whatever it was with Five. It was heat and liquid fire that burned throughout her entire body, culminating in her very center and making her blood sing in her veins. It was anything but innocent... and... Vanya….

_~So take me back to Constantinople_

_No, you can't go back to Constantinople_

_Been a long time gone, Constantinople_

_Why did Constantinople get the works?_

_That's nobody's business but the Turks~_

He brought her back into his chest and dipped her again, only this time he grabbed her knee and pulled it up to rest over his hip. Then rested his palm on her thigh like a brand. The song ended and the music died away leaving them both panting, their eyes locked and Vanya…..She could feel him through her clothes….He was hard and…..she instinctively moved tilting her hips just so…..

His eyes went wide then darkened and turned to slits, their breath mixing and mingling together, charging the very air with sexual tension and something that had always been there between them. Never acknowledged but always lurking under the surface, just waiting to be uncovered and let loose and…..

Vanya whimpered and unknowingly licked her lips as he brought her back up to his chest, his hand still holding her thigh around him. He leaned forward inches from her lips and….

“Ho-ly Shit,” Diego whispered breaking the moment and causing Five to drop her leg and back away from her.

“Have they always been like this or is it a new thing?”

“They have,” Ben answered dryly. “You’ve just been too busy pouting about our numbers to notice.”

“Oooooo, burn.” Klaus snickered, still snacking on his stolen contraband. 

“You’re an idiot.” Diego countered, throwing a knife and hitting the table behind him, just inches from his hand. 

“Ouch Beeeen!! Diego’s throwing knives and trying to stab me again.” 

“Diego, stop throwing knives! Klaus, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT EATING THAT GODDAMN COOKIE DOUGH!!”

“Umm, to do it because it tastes really good? Is anyone else rethinking the whole ‘Ben is the nice brother’ bit?”

Chaos erupted in the background and although Vanya stood in the middle of it, she didn't notice or care. She couldn't. The only thing she was aware of was the heat in her thrumming body, and Five. He was standing mere feet from her, his eyes still burning with that all-consuming blue fire from earlier. He looked hungry and….she ….. She visibly gulped and shivered as that sly, smug, all-knowing smirk bloomed across his face again. Sweet goddess he knew…. He knew. He knew what he was doing to her and what kind of power he had on her and gods help her if he ever decided to use it because she knew, in that moment she was lost and she wouldn't have the will to resist him.

************************************************

Later that night, she found herself lying in bed. Fantasy Lover and it’s last few pages laying unopened at her feet. It looked lonely…..

“It’s your own fault, you know.” she whispered. “You didn't follow book laws. You didn't give me a happy ending.” She bit her lip anxiously as she stared at it and couldn't help but remember Ben’s words about finishing it. It seemed to glint at her in apology, sadly begging for another chance to be read. She sighed and picked it up.

“You better hope Ben is right,” she whispered, “otherwise, it’s the shredder for you.” She opened it back up, found where she had left off and was once again entranced by the story. It seemed Ben was right, and she read with giant eyes and stress bitten lips as Julian’s mother, of all people, defied the other gods and turned back time to save him. Vanya’s heart soared as her characters (and yes they were hers now, anyone who said differently could fight her) finally joined together in love and then it plummeted again when Julian’s brother (the main bad guy) kidnapped Grace. It was all very involved and very romantic and Vanya adored every second of it.

She flipped to the final page, enchanted as Julian showed his and Grace’s new babies off to his mother, waiting for the second that Kyrian would show up and be all like ‘Surprise I'm alive’ _Jazz_ _hands_. Sadly, that second never came……... _No no no no no no_!!!! she fumed, flipping the last page back and forth in furry. “I gave you a second chance dammit!!!” She glared at the book, seething from the betrayal. _You fixed the whole Grace and Julian part but you left Kyrian…..wait……it wasn't the last page...thank the gods, there was more it was…...wait...what…. WHAT, there was another book?! The last few pages were full of Kyrian but...but it was a preview...A gods be damned PREVIEW FOR ANOTHER BOOK! WHAT WHAT!!! What kind of evil, sadistic monster leaves a preview for a sequel in a book that didn't finish the story._

“Oh, you’re Evil!” she said, tossing the thing back to the end of her bed. “You’re so EVIL. How the hell am I going to get my hands on that sequel?” It wasn't a question of when, now it was how. There was no way she could just let this go. She had to know what happened with Kyrian. Julian got his happy ending and that was all well and good. Kyrian though...She had to know what happened to him too. She HAD to have that book and gods help any fool who got in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there is chapter four. As always I hope you liked it and comments are appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, she sat at breakfast with the others, sullen and contemplative. Saying she had to have something was all well and good. The hard part, though, was figuring out how she was going to actually get it and well…..So far she’d come up with several ideas, only to chuck them by the wayside when she’d really taken the time to think them through. She briefly considered asking Ben, he was usually the authority on new books and she had this whole scenario and speech planned out in her head. She would calmly walk up to him after breakfast, all collected and perfectly adult-like...and ask him where and how he managed to get his books, then with great dignity, and poise she would ask (yes ask, not beg, because she was above all that) him to get it for her. Deciding this was the right and obvious course of action, she opened the book again, looking for the title of the sequel and then promptly slammed it shut.

"Yeah, no." she thought sullenly, as she viciously stabbed the yoke of one of the eggs that made up the smiley face plate mom had just set down in front of her. Something tugged on her hair and Vanya absentmindedly shook her head and swatted it just as violently as she’d stabbed the egg. There was no way in Hell she could ask her brother if he could pick up _**Night Pleasures**_ for her. Well, she could but...for a brief second, she was actually desperate enough to consider it, but then she looked up and to her right, only to find him crossing his eyes, making goofy faces and balancing a spoon on his nose while Klaus was facedown on the table, his shoulders shaking helplessly in silent laughter. 

So yeah, that was a no go on Ben. As much as he liked to pretend, deep down he was still just as young and immature as the rest of them. And while that caused a strange glow of happiness to settle in her stomach, it still didn't change the fact that she needed that damn book. She growled and stabbed the second yolk eye and began to mix it around angrily.

_Jesus Christ, think, Vanya. There has to be a way._ Something touched her arm and she snarled viciously, swatting it as hard as she could. _Dear goddess, did they have bugs now? Were bugs invading the house? Had Dad’s evil finally caught the attention of some wayward Demon and now Hell bugs were raining down on their heads in tribute?_

She stabbed the plate again, only this time it coincided with what could only be described as desperately choked off laughter, that caused her to whip her head back in Ben’s direction, only to find him staring helplessly to her left, his eyes dancing with merriment and suppressed glee. He turned them to her, managed to wink then seemed to lose it and joined Klaus, his head lowered to his arms, shoulders shaking in silent laughter. 

Vanya whipped her head around to her left, looking for what could have left Ben, of all people, in such a state, only to see Five. If she wasn't so irritated she might have blushed from the recent events but as it was, she was irritated and as much as she...lo...liked him, he was still subject to that. He was slouching against the back of his chair, his arms folded across his chest, his lips pursed in what could only be described as a…..pout? Oh, goddess, was he pouting???…... Was Five ‘I'm too smart for this world, bow before me, all you lesser mortal beings’ Hargreeves, actually pouting???…... What the Fuck was going on? Did she steal and smoke Klaus’s stash last night and forget it???? First, Ben balances a spoon on his nose. Then Hell bugs start raining from the heavens and now this? She made a sound of exasperation and her expression must have matched, because she heard Ben choke off a laugh again. What the fuck was happening now?? Had she somehow stumbled into one of the alternate dimensions Five and Ben were always arguing about? What’s next? Was she going to look up to find Allison had died her hair purple??? Had Deigo gone blonde?? For a second, she was deathly afraid of looking but she managed to force herself, only to find both of her siblings in possession of their natural hair colors but the looks on their faces... 

Allison's eyes were wide and the smile she wore was almost too big for her face and Diego… well he looked like she felt. He was staring at Five in blatant disbelief, his spoon dangling out the right side of his mouth, his eyes full of a mixture of incredulity and doubt. He swung them to hers and for the first time in her life, they had a silent conversation. 

_“DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SEEING?_ ” they seemed to ask begging her for some kind of clarity. 

_“Yup,”_ hers answered back. “ _I’m seeing it but I don't believe it."_

_“HE'S POUTING??”_

" _Again yup, I see it but I'm betting on the fact that this is all some fucked up drug-induced dream I'm having after accidentally inhaling Klaus’s second-hand smoke and I'm going to wake up tomorrow to find none of it was actually real."_

Five scoffed and Vanya whipped her head back around so she could face him. He was glaring sullenly at Diego and his mouth still set in the pout as he turned his big, innocent blue eyes on her.

Puppy Dog eyes??? He was using puppy dog eyes on her now??? Okay they were pretty cute and her heart basically melted and all she wanted to do was hug and cuddle him close and make whatever had set him off and made him make that face better but really?? REALLY???

There were several choked off hysterical snorts and she literally felt the table shake from the force of Ben’s silent and stifled laughter. Diego’s spoon made a loud clatter and it fell to the floor as she reached out and took Five’s hand, lacing their fingers together, trying to comfort him as best she could. He then promptly, turned the smuggest blue eyes (and that was saying something, because in her mind he already held the award for smuggest expression on the planet) she had ever seen on Diego as if to say ‘haha I won’ then moved them back to her, where they once again turned as innocent and beguiling as a newborn’s. 

She narrowed her own eyes and frowned in suspicion but she was no match for the cuteness or the aura of injured innocence he was projecting.

Feeling herself start to turn to a puddle of goo she ran her thumb along the back of his knuckles in comfort. 

Dad who had somehow remained oblivious to all of this, finally stood up, dismissed them all and went off to do whatever it was he did until mom finished her morning lectures and then let the others go for their training. Vanya wasn’t sure exactly of what it was, but at this point she’d be willing to bet it involved world domination and Chinese torture instruments. He left the room and both Ben and Klaus lost it. Their laughter exploding into the room and echoing off the walls as they laughed hysterically, finally able to let it out.

“Did you see?” Klaus gasped and Ben nodded frantically …

"And when she…,”he mimed flicking his hair off his shoulder, “… And he…”Klaus's face fell into a perfect pout mimicking Five’s expression from earlier completely.

That seemed to start them off again and Five scoffed, glaring. He tightened his hand around Vanya’s, pulled her up from her chair, and out of the dining hall. 

“Morons all of them,” he murmured in a low voice. “I mean I knew the others didn’t have two brain cells to rub together between them but I expected more from Ben. It seems I now stand corrected.” He scoffed again and then dragged her the rest of the way to what had been designated their class room.

She spent the next four hours trying (with little success) to pay attention and listen to Mom's lecture. She just couldn't keep her mind focused. It kept turning back to the problem at hand. She needed that book. She needed a plan. Try as she might, though her mind seemed to be totally against her because no matter what she tried, she kept coming up with a blank. Hmm, maybe if she wrote it all down it would be easier to figure out. It seemed to work for Five, and Ben to an extent too. She couldn't count the number of times she'd wandered into a room only to find them surrounded by books and notebook paper, trying to work some problem or issue out. Absent-mindedly, she pulled out a sheet of paper and began to jot down her thoughts. 

“So the goal,” she thought, putting her pen to the paper, “Is to find out what happened to Kyrian.”

To do that, she had to get her hands on the sequel, Night pleasures. Frowning, she bit her lip then brought her pen up and chewed on the end of it. That was easier said than done. Even if she did somehow manage to sneak out of the house, and that was a big if... she would still have to find the mythical, magical place known as the bookstore. Then her biggest obstacle would hit. Money. That mystical, little green piece of paper that people used in exchange for goods and services. Something she obviously didn't have. She’d never really had a “Money Problem” before. Usually, whenever she needed something, she would just go tell Mom and it would mysteriously appear the next day or she would be told it was a frivolous thing, that she didn't really need and that would be the end of that. Pretty knick knacks and clothes just didn't seem to be in her cards like they were for Allison. Something told her the book would fall into the second category.

Frowning, she brought the pen back up to her mouth and began to nibble on the end of it again. The bookstore was out of the question because of the money problem. So that left her only one avenue. The public library. The problem with this, was the fact that the book wouldn't be hers and she would only be borrowing it ...Vanya had discovered through the reading of Fantasy Lover, that she was very possessive of these books and she knew it would be hard to give it back later. At least this way, she would have the chance to read it. If they even had it, that was. She would just have to hope she got lucky and some member of the library staff was as obsessed with them as she was.

_A chance is better than nothing,_ she thought with a huff. At least now she had a part of a plan. 

_Tomorrow,_ she decided. It was Saturday and that's when she would go. This time when the others went off to train, she would fake a stomach ache, tell mom she was too tired, then find a way to sneak out and hopefully find the library. That decided, she began to doodle aimlessly on the paper. 

Mom finally finished talking (thank the gods) and Vanya looked down at her scribbled on notebook paper. She had drawn a silly map of sorts with Night Pleasures and the Author’s name circled in the middle of it, flowers doodled all around it. With each avenue, her mind had gone down then discarded in hopes of reaching her goal. Shaking her head, she wadded the paper up and tossed it into the trash can, then wandered out the door not noticing or realizing, as a figure stooped over the basket and fished it out.

_Tomorrow,_ she thought, bouncing down the hallway, _Tomorrow._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow came with a literal bang. It was so loud and so unexpected, that Vanya sat up from a dead sleep, visions of robot armies and crazed villains dancing in her head. It wouldn't be the first time someone had tried to break into the house for revenge against one of her super powered siblings and…..

There was a blue flash of light and the smell of ozone as Five materialized before her. His eyes burned an intense and protective shade of sapphire as he examined her every inch before turning to give her room the same treatment. Realizing there was no immediate threat or danger, his shoulders sagged in relief and he opened his mouth to comment, only to find wild laughter interrupting him as it floated through the wall separating Vanya’s room from Klaus’. Realizing that Klaus had probably let his firebug nature get the better of him again and set something off, Five frowned then cursed. 

“Stay here.” he commanded in a gruff voice that caused goosebumps to dance up and down her spine, making her body shiver. Her room was once again engulfed in blue light and the comforting scent of ozone surrounded her as she fell back into her pillows and listened as Five and Klaus’ (and was that Ben’s?…..) voices start to rise up in anger and what promised to be a loud argument.

She groaned and stretched and then remembered the task she had set for herself today. She winced and looked back at the wall as she heard Five’s voice and tone lower into a freezing lilt only to be joined by Ben’s who was obviously trying to soothe and she wondered just exactly what Klaus had set off to deserve it. 

Shaking her head she moved out of the bed and began to gather up clothes in preparation for the day. She would need something that didn't announce her presence as a member of the umbrella academy so her blazer was out of the question. Plain plaid skirt and blouse it was then.

The voices across the wall lowered in volume and she shrugged off the boring mandatory blue pajama top Dad made them all wear. Reaching out for the plain white cotton bra that lay innocently on her bed. She had just lifted it up and onto her arms when Five chose that moment to materialize in her room again.

“It’s alright,” he started in a disgusted voice. “Klaus decided he needed to set off a…”

“FIVE!!” she shrieked, mortified, grabbing up her blouse and pulling it up to her chest.

He gaped at her for a second, stunned, as his eyes went as wide as saucers.

“TURN AROUND!!!” 

He seemed to shake off his shock and his eyes turned dark navy as a smirk bloomed across his face.

“Well, well, well,” he drawled in a teasing voice as he leaned his hip against her desk. “This is a very interesting situation.”

“Interes….What??” she sputtered, keeping the blouse close to her chest. She was suddenly reminded of that dance they’d shared in the kitchen and his leg between her thighs as he pulled her up to meet him, her center dragging against his….she gulped, heat exploding in her abdomen as his eyes slipped to half-mast and he began to stalk towards her.

“A man doesn't find himself in a situation like this every day.” he said, his voice pure sin as he stopped in front of her and leaned forward, invading her space until his breath mixed and mingled with her own, ghosting across her lips, causing her to tremble. She whimpered as she felt the blouse slip from her fingers and fall into a puddle on the floor. 

His eyes turned an electric blue as he gave an appreciative and triumphant chuckle. “In fact, I think I’ll…”

“Vanya!!” Klaus burst into her room. “Ben said I need to apologize for…WHOA!!!” He held his hands up and backed away in shock. “I'm sorry I didn’t…”

“GET OUT!!” Five demanded, turning around and standing so he blocked Vanya from Klaus’ view. 

“KLAUS!” Ben sighed, “I told you not to bother her! I told you to wait until…OH MY GOD!!” Ben said in horror, covering his eyes and trying to back out of the room. 

“I’m so sorry! I swear, I didn't see anything... nothing, I promise I…”

“GET OUT!!” Five yelled again. 

“Jesus Christ, why are you all shou…Jesus ” Diego came through the door behind Ben and then froze in shock. “What the…”

All the nice feelings faded from Vanya’s body to be replaced with embarrassment and irritation. She bent her bright purple face down and cursed as she tried to retrieve her shirt. When had she become so popular? Was her room grand central station now? What the fuck was going on?

ARE YOU ALL DEAF AS WELL AS BRAIN DEAD? I TOLD YOU TO GET THE FUCK OUT NOW!!

“Children, what’s all this commotion about? What are you all doing here in your sister's room? You know the rules breakfast starts in less than thirty minutes and you all need to be downstairs and ready for the day. Your Father doesn't like tardiness.” Grace entered the room and clicked her tongue, shooing everyone off. 

"You too, Five," she said in a stern voice when he made it obvious he had no intention of leaving. "You know how your Father gets. There’s no reason to deliberately antagonize him."

He scoffed but then turned his head to look at Vanya who had by now retrieved her shirt and was fumbling with the buttons. He sent her a smoldering look that made her ache in unmentionable places and her toes curled up in the carpet. Pushing her hands away, he grabbed the buttons on the front of her shirt and slowly began to do them up for her. His blue eyes seeming to burn with an inner fire and he kept his gaze locked with hers for a few minutes more then scoffed when Grace discreetly cleared her throat. 

"We will be continuing this later Vanya," he promised, his voice rough and gravelly. He tugged on her collar then turned, walked out the door, and disappeared down the stairs. 

"Well then," Grace started. "You need to hurry up and finish getting ready sweetheart you know how your father gets."

Going down stairs and facing everyone really didn't appeal to her and she was planning on sneaking out today anyway so… really what would it hurt if she sped up her timeline a bit. 

"Mom," she started in a small voice, "I really don’t feel all that well….."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's chapter Five. As always I hope you enjoyed it and Comments are appreciated. They keep me writing.


	6. Chapter 6

This was not happening! It just wasn't. Vanya refused to believe that the Universe or the goddess or whatever was up there watching over things, hated her this much, so... It. Was. Not. Happening. Huffing in exasperation, she closed her eyes and then carefully adjusted her footing. Her fingernails dug deep into the furrowed bark and her arms clasped tightly around the single tree branch, that stood between her and the promise of sudden and painful death on the hard ground below her. An hour or so ago, this had all seemed like such a good idea. All she would have to do was climb outside her window, make the small leap to the branches of the ancient oak tree, that was standing beside it and then climb down to freedom.

Spoiler Alert: It wasn’t a good idea. In fact, if good ideas were a person, it would have taken one look at this situation, turned off the lights, gone back to bed and mumbled to itself.

Muttering angrily, she shifted her foot then froze as a piece of bark chipped off and fell to the ground below her. She watched in a kind of horrified fascination as it hit, then bounced once and lay still. 

Jesus, she was so high up. What the Hell had she been thinking? There was no way this was going to work. She was either going to fall to her death or worse, Dad was going to find her then punish her for trying to sneak out. Her mind started running through all the different scenarios, all the many punishments she’d been forced to endure throughout the years and suddenly, falling to her death didn’t seem like such a bad idea anymore. 

She shuddered as a gust of wind blew her hair in her face and brought her back to herself. She was being silly. She wasn’t going to fall to her death here. And she sure as Hell wasn’t going to let someone catch her skipping lessons and trying to sneak out. She refused to allow the first time she’d ever rebelled and tried to do something daring end in disaster. After all, where would Middle Earth have been if Frodo had given in to his fear and stayed home? What would have befallen Tortall if Alanna of Trebond had been a good girl and gone to the convent instead of, trading places with her brother and taking up the sword to become a knight? How would Dorothy Gale’s life have turned out if she hadn’t decided to follow that Yellow brick road? And most importantly (to this situation anyway) where would Julian have been if Grace had thrown away his book? She’d said she wanted an adventure. A real one. Well…. It was time to put her money where her mouth was. Was she going to give in at the first test? 

No, she wasn’t. She just... had to figure out a way to get down. Gritting her teeth in determination, she looked around for a safe branch to put her right foot. There was a branch right below her that, if she could reach, would allow her to slowly move down it, inching her feet along until she reached the main V, where the tree split off into branches. It was infinitely closer to the ground. There, she could brace her weight against the bigger, sturdier branches and then make a small hop to the ground below, but that would mean she had to squat down and rest all of her weight on the flimsy branch she was currently using to keep herself balanced. That didn’t seem like such a good idea. Especially since she was in a skirt. Goddess, save her from skirts and the academy wear in general. What she wouldn’t give to have a pair of pants. Even the shitty T-shirt kind Allison tended to wear when she was feeling bad or in a mood. Sighing, she bit her lip. It was now or never. She had to do it now, before she lost her nerve or someone decided to… A brilliant flash of blue light filled the window to her room, and if she hadn’t been so used to Five and his comings and goings, she would have been startled and lost her footing. 

Thank the goddess she was. He called out her name and she could see him looking around the room in puzzlement. She could tell the second he realized where she was, because his eyes went wide and he couldn’t stop his mouth from gaping a bit. Wiping the expression from his face, he cocked an eyebrow, braced his arms on her window sill and leaned out. 

“Well, this is new.” he commented in a lazy drawl, his lips tilting up at the corner in a playful smirk. He looked her up and down and Vanya swore, as the heat that always filled her body whenever he was around, started to rise up and make itself known. “Want to tell me why you’re hanging out in a tree, when Mom said you were sick in bed?”

“Would you buy that this is all just one big and very vivid dream?” she asked in a sarcastic voice. He snickered, his dimples flashing and his blue eyes sparkling with mirth. 

She grit her teeth and clutched her branch tighter, shifting her feet until she felt a bit more stable. He was entirely too good looking and worse, he knew it. He leaned further out her window. 

“So...are you going to come in anytime soon or have you decided the view is better so you live out here now?”

“Ha-Ha.” she snarked back. “But no, I think I'm going to stay out here for a while. It’s actually pretty nice out here and-“

“Uh-huh,” he answered, his smirk growing bigger, if that was even possible. “You’re stuck, aren't you?”

“What?...No. Why would you think that? I'm not stuck! I just-”

“Decided to go for a stroll outside your window, into the tree beside it and got stuck?”

“Smart Ass,” she grumbled, shifting her foot again.

“I’m confused,” he told her, a perfectly clueless and innocent mask settling across his features, that was so good, even she would have believed it, if not for his blue eyes that were still sparkling with humor and mischief. “What does an Intelligent Donkey have to do with anything?” 

She gaped at him in pure disbelief and he couldn't stop the snicker from slipping out and destroying the image. 

“Asshole.” she sputtered out. 

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry.” he said smiling from ear to ear, unable to keep it off his face. She glared in indignation and his smile only got bigger as he lost it and laughed again. “Don’t be mad, Van-ya.”

She turned her head away from him stubbornly and began to try to figure out exactly how far it would be if she just jumped. 

“Come back inside and we’ll--”

“Don’t you have lessons?” she interrupted, her voice full of agitation as she shifted her foot and tried to feel how far away the next branch was. “Mom and Pogo won’t be happy if they find you here.” 

“I could say the same for you.” he said, his laughter stopping and his azure eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Come to think of it, you never did tell me why you’re out here.”

“No I didn’t.” she told him flatly. The wind kicked up again and she growled in frustration as her hair and the fucking skirt blew around crazily. She cursed and rubbed her face against her shoulder, trying to get the hair out of her eyes. Jesus, would this humiliation ever end? All she wanted was to go to the Library for Christ Sake. 

She looked up at Five, trying to come up with some other bullshit excuse she could spew, hoping he would give up and…..wait...was he staring at her legs...He was!! His eyes were locked on her legs while the hated skirt blew up in the wind around them. She shifted them again and he shook his head, bringing his heated eyes back up to hers. 

Jesus, he looked as if he wanted to eat her alive. With a spoon! His eyes were a dark sapphire, full of intent and she….she bit her lip as the heat threatened to consume her again. Immediately, like two heat seeking missiles, his eyes locked on to her mouth and she shuddered, that ever present heat rising up and roaring through her veins as her stomach flipped. 

“I--I’m not coming back in, Five,” she said, shaking her head, barely stopping herself from squirming. “I--(she swallowed here as his eyes moved back to hers) I have things I want to do first.”

“Define: Things?” he asked, the gravel in his voice causing her to shiver again. 

“I want to go into town.” she told him stubbornly. 

The intensity in his eyes changed slightly but didn’t lessen any.

“Why?” he asked in a frustrated voice. 

“Because there are things I want to do there, duh.” she announced, tossing her head the way she’d seen Allison do when she was through with a conversation. 

“What things?” he asked stubbornly, obviously not enjoying her new attitude. 

“Oh for the love -- A book, alright? I want to go into town to get a book.” she glared and the wind kicked up harder around her.

“Why didn’t you just ask Ben?”

“Because.” she said gritting her teeth.

“Because why?” he shot back. 

“Because I didn't want to. It’s not the kind of book I can-- I just wanted to go myself okay? Now if you’ll excuse me, (she tried to shimmy down the tree limb and get her foot onto that next branch here) I need to get down, out of this tree and to the library before it closes.”

“You know, I could take you there.” He started, right before her foot made the move. She glanced up to find his blue eyes staring at her in a very calculating manner. “I could take you there and have you back before anyone has time to even notice you’re gone.”

She blinked at him dumbfounded. 

“I wouldn’t even ask you about the book you’re so intent to be secretive about. I would however, want a reward.”

“A reward? Five wha...I don't have anything th..”

“Oh you do.” he whispered darkly, his eyes locked to her mouth. She licked her suddenly too dry lips and his eyes grew to an unexpected shade of dark blue as they traced the movement of her tongue around them. 

“You definitely do. Every knight gets a reward for saving the princess, doesn’t he? One reward, Vanya. One small, teenie, tiny, little thing. I’ll tell you what it is after I get you to town.” He lifted his smoldering eyes to hers and she could only nod helplessly.

“So, do we have a deal?” He asked, his eyes a dark navy, promising forbidden things that made her want to squirm. 

“Uh-huh.” she answered intelligently.

He smirked, a dark and triumphant smirk, one last time and then it was as if a switch had been flicked and he was all business.

“Good.” he answered briskly then teleported so his weight was resting on the main branch below her. 

“How did you get out here anyway?” he asked, reaching up and grabbing her around the waist. “Damn tree has to be at least a foot from your window.” 

“I jumped.” she answered as he pulled her down next to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The wind kicked up again, blowing the tree around them in an unseasonably strong gust and that triumphant smirk made an appearance on his face again.

“Ready?” he asked, his blue eyes dancing with mirth. 

“Uh-huh.” she gulped. And if she clutched his shoulders a little tighter well, he didn't mention it. 

One...

Blue light flared up around them, the clean scent of ozone filling her nostrils and senses with a feeling that could only be described as right, one that she would and always had associated with him and suddenly they were standing on the solid ground outside of the Academy's gates.

“Two and three, asshole.” she mumbled, clutching tighter to his shoulders, digging her forehead into his neck. “This time, you forgot both two and three.”

“They’re not invited.” he told her, snickering again as she pulled back a bit regretfully. “I was under the impression this was a trip just for you.”

She grunted a bit then backed up a few steps, trying to get her bearings back around her. 

“So, where to?” he asked, waiting to see which direction she would go in. 

“Umm, this one?” She asked, looking around and choosing a random direction.

“You have no idea where you're going, do you?” he asked, fondly forcing himself not to facepalm.

“Yes I do!” She said in an indigent voice. “I'm going to the library.” This time he couldn't stop himself and he facepalmed. His shoulders shook in silent laughter and she squeaked in indgination. 

“It’s not funny!” she told him, feeling picked on. 

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry.” he said, lifting his head and wiping his laughter filled eyes. “It’s this way, Miss Earhart.” he grabbed her shoulders and turned her in the opposite direction.

“Show off.” she mumbled and began to move down the sidewalk. She followed the road, letting him take the lead and she watched as his eyes moved all along the streets, the laughter dying and fleeing them as they clouded over, to be replaced with something dark she couldn't explain. They had finally made it to the end of the road and he suddenly reached out and seized her hand, in a desperate grip as the giant building she knew was the library came into view. 

“Five?” she asked softly biting her lip. “You okay?”

He squeezed her hand again and then seemed to shake himself.

“I’m fine, it’s...” he answered in a shaky voice. “Just..bad memories.”

“Bad memories?” she asked, looking at him puzzled, a frown settling across his face. 

“Don't worry,” he said, forcing a smile back onto his face. “You have a book to find, don't you?”

She reached out, her palm just barely grazing the side of his face, smiling as he seemed to lean into her touch. “You’re right,” she told him, dropping her hand with a sigh, then turned as the excitement of discovery filled her up again. She reached out blindly, behind her gripped his hand again, and laced their fingers together then started to pull him towards those damned marble steps their arches gaping wide threatening to swallow him whole in memories and.. and…..and.. She was shocked when he froze, stopping her in her tracks. 

“Go on,” he said, squeezing her hand and then releasing it. “Go up to the front desk and tell them you want a library card, and then about the books you want. Make sure not to give them the phone number to the house. All we need is for them to try calling, and for Dad to find out.”

“You aren’t coming in with me?” she asked in a shaky voice. 

He glanced at her face then up at the marble steps with their smiling gapping archways and flinched.. 

She didn't like it. 

Not one bit.

She didn't like it, and as so often happened of late the wind kicked up around them as if in response. A little girl began to cry as the string to the balloon she was holding jerked from her hands and floated into the sky rejoicing in the freedom of its gust. Several students who'd been lounging around on the stairs and benches cried out in dismay as their papers hats and anything else that wasn’t nailed down or tied to their person joined the balloon in its wind dance of freedom. 

Vanya noticed none of this.

Five wasn't supposed to be afraid.

_EVER_. 

He was supposed to be the smirking smug tower of strength who always had a comeback or thought he wasn't afraid to state out loud for every situation. If she was reading _this_ situation right though,….there was...something about the library that terrified him.

“No, he told her firmly shaking his head His azure eyes strangely vulnerable. “You’ll be fine. Besides I have something I want to do too,” he tore his eyes away from those damn archways then reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair. “I’ll be back in about an hour. Hmm, See that bench over there?” He pointed to a fairly new but ordinary-looking bench that was resting up against a rather large shade tree in front of the massive building. ”I’ll wait for you over there. Now go on, he said his strained smile biting at the corner of his lips. The wonders of a real library, One that Dad doesnt control, await you.” 

Nodding she bit her lip searched his face one more time just to be sure and then turned and began to make her way up the white marble steps that led to the entrance. “Well here goes nothing,” she whispered to herself then pushed them open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, here's chapter 6. Let me know how you guys liked it. Comments and Kudos keep me writing.


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